With only three weeks to go until posting season begins for the ninth annual Dean/Cas Pinefest, it’s time to take a closer look at this year’s crop of pine.
Keep reading for the full posting schedule, author and artist info, and links to a sneak preview of each fic!
ALTSo that he has time to finish making a series of loaded statements to a very bewildered priest, the team originally scheduled to post today will now post on Saturday April 12th! You can find their preview post here.
The second-last team for the year will post tomorrow, on Friday April 11th.
You can find this year’s Ao3 collection here – or check the links to everything that’s posted so far under the cut!
Author: seidenapfel
Artist: WitchyWorm
After running into Marie and the girls, Dean can’t let go of fanfictions. Digging into them, he can’t escape them. Fic after fic he falls deeper into a rabbit hole as he realises that the fics soothe the cravings of the Mark. And he will do everything to keep it that way.
His longing transcends barriers, and at first, Castiel only receives vibes when his yearning resonates and the dreams commence. Endless possibilities open themselves up for him. For them.
Missed moments. Alternate universes. All of them have one thing in common: Dean. Lovely, beautiful Dean Winchester, loving him back in every possible way.
Yet, every morning, it feels as if nothing has happened. Everything is back to normal — or is it?
Link to fic | Link to art
Pairings: Dean/Cas (mentioned past Dean/Benny, mentioned past Dean/Crowley)
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Author: an_ardent_rain
Artist: verobatto
Dean is the heir to his father’s lands, an omega, and now… a prisoner in a strange land.
Castiel, the youngest son of his captor’s kingdom, is strange. Dean hates him, but he’s short on allies and desperate to find a way home from this place with regressive views and too many secrets to count. Castiel’s elder brothers, Michael and Lucifer, are vying for the right to succeed the king, but when they uncover a magical conspiracy Cas decides to throw his hat in the ring for heir. The only problem? He has to be mated to be king.
Dean and Cas must work together to dismantle an oppressive regime, save the kingdom, and maybe, along the way, find time to fall in love.
Pairings: Dean/Cas
Warnings: N/A
Author: iamianweareme
Artist: TwinOne
Castiel Armstrong is a hospice nurse struggling to stay afloat (financially and emotionally) after an abusive marriage and toxic divorce. Dean Winchester is a successful mechanic, trying to build a secure foundation after a lifetime of instability. When his strong, indomitable father announces his intention to stop cancer treatments, Dean’s world is rocked, but that’s nothing compared to his shock when he meets John’s new nurse. Dean changed schools more often than he changed shoe sizes growing up, but he remembered Castiel. Was it too much to hope that Castiel remembered HIM?
Pairings: Dean/Cas
Warnings: Mentions of past physical and emotional abuse; mention of homophobia, discussion of Mary’s murder, and Azazael killing others in the same way, mention of past spousal violence, major character death, discussion of death and dying, discussion of medical/health procedures and end of life symptoms
Author: golby-moon
Artist: aerialworms-art
What was supposed to be any easy hunt is turned on its head when Dean and Cas get cursed to hold hands or suffer the consequences: a wave of instant pain the second they lose skin-to-skin contact. This wouldn’t be so bad if Cas wasn’t being so distant lately, flapping off at the drop of a hat and always lost in an angelic conference call when he is there, but maybe this is the chance to finally grill Cas on his distant behavior. When Raphael and Crowley start popping up, however, Dean starts to wonder what the hell the angel’s gotten himself into. Can’t he leave the guy alone for five minutes?
Pairings: Dean/Cas, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel & Bobby Singer & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, season 6-7 rewrite, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Witch Curses, Villain Character Death
ALTTo give him time to sleep before they meet back up to pine in person, the team originally scheduled to post today will now post on Friday April 11th! You can find their preview post here.
The final 6 teams will resume posting tomorrow, on Sunday April 6th.
You can find this year’s Ao3 collection here – or check the links to everything that’s posted so far under the cut!
Author: Tossukka
Artist: daffodilsonaprettystring
As the youngest son to the king of a small European country, Castiel had rarely felt free to be himself. After a breakup and his ex-boyfriend outing him to the public, Cas flees to America to seek some peace and quiet from the press. In his new town, he manages to escape from his bodyguards for an afternoon and meets an attractive stranger. The man, Dean, gives him a taste of what it could be like to date as just another regular person.
And that’s just the first of the strange turns his life is about to take.
Pairings: Dean/Cas (past Cas/OMC, mentioned past Dean/others, mentioned Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, mentioned Charlie Bradbury/others)
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, outing someone as queer, kiss without asking for consent, loss of privacy, manipulative ex, childhood neglect
Tags: Human AU, Royalty AU, Strangers to friends to lovers
Author: Altiria
Artist: Stonelions
Again and again, Castiel must watch Dean die as the Empty dangles happiness before him, only to rip it away. There is no escape; this is the reality he accepted to save Dean. His fate, his destiny, is to watch Dean suffer while he is forbidden from changing his fate—to stand there as his happiness destroys them.
Dean, meanwhile, makes a drastic choice. He wants his apple-pie life; he wants to be happy… but he wants it with Castiel. He’s sent to the empty, facing down a Castiel who doesn’t remember their real life, while the Empty kills him again and again right before Castiel’s eyes.
All of this, with the simple goal of staying alive long enough for Jack to get them out.
Pairings: Dean/Cas
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Suicide (implied & Referenced)
Author: Desirae
Artist: TheStarsMakeMeDream
Dean Winchester lived a contented life in Erzla Cove, Rhode Island, running the family store. He had good friends, the best little brother, and a niece that he adored. The only thing missing was someone to share it with.Castiel Novak had been through much over the years: the loss of his father, the incarceration of his brother, and subsequent guardianship of his nephew Jack, to name a few. Another loss that had affected him profoundly was that of his childhood best friend, Dean Winchester: The one who got away.
But now Castiel was hoping to change that.
Spending summers with his father in Erzla Cove as a teenager had been the only time Castiel felt truly at home, and he wanted that for Jack. Taking his late father’s advice, Castiel packed up their life and moved to the small coastal town that held much of his heart, hoping to reconnect with old friends and have a second chance at love.
Pairings: Dean/Cas (Sam/Ruby)
Warnings: None
ALTLooks like Dean and Cas figured things out and are currently canoodling in the bunker. Good for them!
While they’re busy, this is a great chance for the rest of us to catch up on the pine so far – as well as leave some comments for the authors and artists whose work we’ve enjoyed!
You can find this year’s Ao3 collection here – or check the links below to see the first 17 masterposts.
We’ll be back with fresh pine tomorrow!
